Nothing Short of a Miracle
by Emo Weasley
Summary: [CHAPTER 13] The Marauders, Lily, Jena, and Jackie, troup to the Evans' to pay their respects at the funeral. What would a trip home be without some revelations and romance?
1. chapter one

_**.chapter one.**_

'I'm always going to remember this,' thought Lily Evans, goosebumps rippling across her flesh as she gazed around the Great Hall of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had a small smile on her face as she watched the students, and she almost felt as though she could burst into tears. It was her last year there, and she was insistant on making it her best. She was Head Girl, had a prospective boyfriend, and hopefully she would finally get James Potter in line. The last one was very doubtful, as James Potter was the most annoying human being on Earth and also very persistant in his unsuccessful pursuit of her, which caused Lily to dislike him even more. But she didn't want to think about that now; why waste her time thinking about him when she could be thinking about something happy, like ... Benjamin Corners, perhaps?

"Lily... um," said the tall, slender girl sitting beside her. She snapped her fingers in front of Lily's face and giggled to the other girl sitting with them, which effectively dragged her from her reverie. "You were beginning to drool."

"Thanks," replied Lily, rolling her emerald green eyes. She picked up her fork, pushed her potatoes around on her plate, then rested her wrist on the table, thoughtful. She got like this quite often, when something was bothering her or she just had so much going on in her brilliant mind that she just couldn't talk about it because there was just too much to say and not enough words. The blonde haired girl, Jackie Storms, watched her for a moment curiously, hoping that she would say something. The other girl, who had brown hair that was more the color of mocha, hardly registered the process. She was called Jena Jacobson.

Over the past seven years, these three girls had become close as sisters, with the same squabbles that sisters had and the loving moments and bonds that sisters also have. They were mostly polar opposites; one booksmart and head strong, one out spoken and Quidditch - obsessed, and the other shy and artsy. The seven years they spent together at Hogwarts was not without drama, of course; they had gone through puberty, first loves, heart break, broken bones and pranks, and of course the occasional quarrel. They were accustomed to eachother's habits, like Lily's thinking sort of through expression, or that Jackie had a tendancey to chew on the skin around her thumbs whenever she was nervous. They were very often made fun of by James Potter and his crew of mischievous friends at the end of the school year, as they were always crying and hugging like girls sometimes do. They loved eachother and came together like pieces of a puzzle, to complete a beautiful picture.

"D'you think that I've got a chance with Ryan Chang this year?" asked Jackie suddenly. They all leaned forward to have a little piece of privacy, and Lily was even paying atteniton. She glanced over to the Ravenclaw table, where the exotic looking boy was chatting with a pretty girl named Tracy Brown. She kept flicking her hair over her shoulder, and it was coming dangerously close to her mashed potatoes and gravy.

"Well, if he's interested in Tracy... definitely," said Lily. "I mean, look at her. She hardly got an 'Acceptable,' on her O.W.L's." This was something unacceptable to Lily; she wouldn't date a guy that got below 'Acceptable,' on his O.W.L's. But most guys didn't ask Lily out anyway, as she was a bit intense and overwhelming. Plus, James Potter had obviously marked her as his, much to her annoyance and disgust.

"But look at her... assets." Jackie meant her curvasous body; she herself was a bit like a bean pole, which left her feeling that she lacked something, which she didn't. She was beautiful and Tracy Brown had nothing on her.

"Oh my, are we still on that?" asked Lily with a weary sigh.

"You are beautiful, and Tracy Brown might as well be invisible," chimed in Jena. She herself was rather pretty, with big, almond shaped blue eyes that sparkled, and classic features that made you think she was the heroine in some old movie that included a war or something. Lily was particularly fond of those movies.

"Think so?" Jackie asked. "Good. I was going to ask him to help me out with some chaser stuff." Jackie was the sporty one of the group, and had snagged a position as one of the three chasers on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She also had a very long line of guys that she had dated and dumped - she had never been the dumpee. Ever.

"Well, I'm sure he'd adore the chance play Quidditch with you. But anyway, guess what happened to me this summer when I was shopping at Diagon Alley." Lily had not yet told them this story, but kept it to herself, as it was such a big deal to her. She had liked Benjamin since their fifth year, when he said that she looked with a prefects badge. So, of course, this budded some interest and she analyzed him - his grades, how he treated his other friends (the girls, of course) - and finally decided that he was a great guy. So, she was especially happy when she bumped into him at Flourish and Blotts.

"You met a Latin man and had an affair and now you're having an illigitamate baby?" asked Jackie in one swift breath. She could be a rather quick talker.

"No," said Lily, furrowing her brows at her friend. "Why on Earth would you think that?"

"Well, you see, my Grandmother watches these soap operas -"

"Nevermind. I was in Flourish and Blotts, and guess who walked right up to me and tapped me on the shoulder! Ben Corners, that's who. And you'll never guess what he said to me. I'll tell you, you'll never guess," she said to her friends, who didn't look like they would be guessing any time soon, "He said, "Lily Evans! I hardly recognized you, you've changed a lot over the summer." And then he grinned and I said, "You think so?" and he said, "Yeah." And I asked, "Is that a good thing?" and he scratched his nose, a bit like this," she demonstrated, "and then he said - you'll never believe this - "Yeah. It's a great thing." Isn't that spectacular?!"

"Well," drawled a very bored sounding voice from over Lily's head, causing her face to flush with embarrassment immediately as she knew who the voice belonged to, "I think it's sort of sad. Because it means you weren't great looking before." Then the person sunk down beside her on the bench, leaning on his elbows against the table. The same mop of untidy (though sometimes purposefully so) pitch black hair and the teasing, chestnut eyes behind the wire rimmed spectacles, the firm set jaw, and lanky body that belonged to Lily's most hated enemies sat beside her, a bored grin on his face. James Potter was striking back again, and this time, with a vengance.

"Shut up, Potter," said Jackie, her voice annoyed and bored. "This is an A, B, and D conversation. 'C' yourself out."

"That didn't go quite in order," pointed out James, only to be cut off by Jackie's explination.

"That's because you have to use -"

"He knows that. He's just being his normal, bothersome self. What do you want, Potter?" asked Lily, her voice weary of these confrontations. And he was beginning early this year - usually he didn't start until midway through the first day of classes.

"What I have accomplished. Hearing your voice. Also, annoying you. So, see you around, Evans." He stood up, patted a large hand on her dark red hair, then strolled off with his hands jammed in his pockets, whistling, as though they had just had the most normal conversation ever.

"Well, one things for sure," said Jena quietly. "James Potter is never going to give up on you." She smiled slowly, but it quickly disappeared.

"I do wish he would," replied Lily fretfully. "That boy is most definitely not stable in the mind."

A/N: That was rather abrupt, huh? Well, the second chapter is better, trust me. Trust me.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, do you think I would really be writing fanfiction on the internet, huh? Well yeah.... I wouldn't be. I would be writing the sixth book as quickly as I could so I could satisfy people like me!! 


	2. chapter two

_**.chapter two.  
**_  
James Potter had been daft. So daft, in fact, that it amazed him that he could have put up with himself. He wondered why he had been so stupid, and decided it was the fact that Lily Evans was so smart and beautiful and clever and redheaded that it had just made him a lot less intelligent. So, after a long summer of analyzing the situation and chewing his best pal Sirius Black's ear off about the whole event, he finally decided that he needed to approach the situation from a different angle. He had been too much too fast; she wasn't ready for that nor was she interested in it. He decided that from now on, he was going to play it cool. He wasn't going to go around teasing her about her hair or how brainy she was - though sometimes an occasional teasing was okay, it added suspense - but rather contrary to all of that. He was going to pretend like he didn't like her.  
  
This was going to be no easy feat, of course. He was going to need the help of his three best friends, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and of course Sirius, to keep him on track. It would be hard, but he was absolutely sure that by the end of the seventh year, Lily Evans would be his girlfriend and all would be spectacular.  
  
He just sort slipped though, accidently, during the openning feast when he said that she was ugly before, or something like that.  
  
That night, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James were sitting around the fire in the common room, in their favorite spots. It was rather quiet, as many of the students had drifted off to bed long ago. Lily and her two friends, Jackie Storms and Jena Jacobson, that seemed to be joined at the hip, had disappeared rather quickly. Lily was Head Girl this year, along with James' friend Remus (though James had been hoping for the privelege, he had simply had far too many detentions and wreaked too much havoc to become Head Boy). They had trouped up together, debating some issue that was of no relevance to James or the rest of the Marauders, which is what they called themselves. Their secret club that no one else had a chance of joining.  
  
"It's our last year," said Remus suddenly, his blue eyes becoming bright with thought. "I think you should all try to finish on a good leg."  
  
"Damn it! I ruined my last good leg during the summer," replied Sirius sarcastically. "You sound like James' Mum." He chuckled, dodging the pillow that was sent flying at him. He raked a hand through his chocolate brown locks and grinned smugly. Sirius was the most playful of the entire group, a very liked guy. He was friendly and outgoing, which was what attracted so many people to him. He was a magnetic force.  
  
"I'm being serious," said Remus in a serious tone. "You guys are never going to get work if you don't start getting worried about your academics and not just girls you fancy or what have you." He folded his arms over his chest and cocked up an eyebrow at James, who he could much more easily guilt into promising to look after his grades, but not without much help from outside sources that didn't need to know about being sources. "Lily is never going to go out with you if you don't start paying attention in class."  
  
"Prongs doesn't need to pay attention in class!" exclaimed a timid Peter Pettigrew, using the groups top secret nic-names, which only they knew what th names meant. "All he has to do is hear it, and it practically gets permanently imprinted on his brain. He's much smarter than Evans." Peter was the round faced baby of the group, who was rather daft but still good at heart. He had thin blonde hair and wide blue eyes that made him seem younger than them.  
  
"If that's true, why did he only get an 'Acceptable' on his O.W.L's?"  
  
"Because I don't like to show off too much," replied James. Sirius and Remus turned to look at him, as this was a blatant lie, than began to snort with laughter. James pulled a face like he was hurt and pouting, then started laughing as well. It was just something that he couldn't deny, nor could anyone else in all of Hogwarts that knew him. Except for maybe the first years, as they were naieve and would never expect to wake up to the smell of manure in their dormitory....  
  
"Well, all I'm saying is that you lot had better shape up. Otherwise, it'll be you who is sorry later." With that final note, Remus stood up, stretched slightly, then traipsed up the boys' staircase to their room, which would be empty except for Frank Longbottum, who was probably already asleep.  
  
:::......:::  
  
There was a silent still over the common room when Lily Evans swept through very early that morning. She headed down to the Great Hall, where she would eat a quick breakfast and then round up the prefects to begin handing out schedules to the other students. When she arrived, the smell of pancakes and sausage hit her and she felt her stomach rumble. With a grin she spotted Jena sitting by herself at the long Gryffindor table, which was nearly empty as it was so early. With one leg tucked beneath her, she was obviously drawing like she usually did in the morning; she said it was her best time to work because there was no one around to look over her shoulder.  
  
"Good morning," said Lily brightly as she plopped down across from her. She immediatly poured herself some orange juice and grabbed a few pieces of sausage and a couple pancakes. She buttered them and drenched them in sweet syrup like normal. "Sleep well?"  
  
"I had a dream that I was marrying Snape and you and Jackie were my co- maids of honor. And you kept telling me that we were the perfect couple and that you were so happy for me. I kept asking you, "Have you gone nutters?" And you would just laugh..." she trailed off, not really ending the story. It was a tradition, when one of the three told pointless stories, to say, "Good story," at the end. Then they would chuckle for a few moments.  
  
"Good story." They giggled. "What're you drawing today?"  
  
"Nothing," she replied mysteriously, which was pretty much her reply for anything she didn't want to show anyone. "Anyway, did you sleep well last night?"  
  
"Yeah. I don't remember what I dreamed though - probably about murdering James or something." She shrugged off handishly and began eating, then lowered her fork again in that thoughtful way. "D'you suppose I've got a chance with Ben?"  
  
"Lily. Every guy in the school likes you - well, they think you're hot at least - and I'm sure Ben likes you. He would probably be very pleased if you asked him out." Jena didn't glance up from her sketch as she said this, but seemed rather intent on shading something.  
  
"You think so? I really was kind of hoping you would say that... you're not just saying it though, right?" Lily didn't even need to ask. Jena was sort of the designated advice - giver, and it was often very accurate. She was wise beyond her years, Lily had decided years ago. She might have only been seventeen, but her soul was much older.  
  
"Of course not," she replied, tucking a strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ears. "You know me, Lils." And Lily did; Jena was the most beautiful girl that she had ever met, with her mocha hair hair golden - tan skin that was flawless. She was an exotic looking girl and her personality was just as beautiful as her looks. She was blessed with the talent to see something and then draw it exactly as she had seen it, realistically, and that was something Lily would be eternally jealous of. But she was often quiet and observant, sometimes causing Lily to wonder if there was something wrong. But after a while, she just realized that was how Jena was, how she functioned.  
  
"Yes, I do," replied Lily with a grin as she shoved a piece of pancake into her mouth. "I wonder what's keeping Jackie?"  
  
:::......:::  
  
"Jackie!" said Sirius Black loudly, as though the girl was deaf. He put his large hands on her shoulders and steered her away from the portrait hole and back towards the fireplace, where the fire was warming the chilly common room. Jackie gave him a quizzical, suspicous look, but allowed him to guide her away. "My friend!"  
  
"Since when?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"Well... that's beside the point. We've always been buddies, right? Making fun of Professor Binns, poking Snivellous in the back with our wands... great times. Anyway, before I get derailed, I have a great big favor to ask of you." He gazed at her innocently, fluttering his eyelashes in a feminine way, pouting his lips. Jackie cocked an eyebrow at him.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"You make it sound like I want something bad." She pulled a 'You - Always - Want - Something - Bad' face and he ignored it. "Okay, you know my buddy Prongs -"  
  
"Prongs is James right?" she asked, having always had some trouble with the Marauders' nic-names. "Or is he Remus?"  
  
"No, Remus is Moony, James is Prongs," Sirius corrected her, then shook his head to clear all thoughts that were not about what he was asking her. "Anyway. So James has a crush on your best friend, and we all know that they are destined to be together. Because look at James' Mum - red head. And his grandmum? Redhead. And fiesty at that," he added thoughtfully. "Plus, James always wants something that is out of his reach and eventually gets it. So I was hoping that you could make my life -" He put his arm around her shoulders and began leading her away from the staircase to the portrait hole as he said all of this, Jackie nodding as she processed the information. By now they were outside of the portrait of the fat lady in the pink dress and strolling down the corridor like old friends. "A whole lot easier," he finished.  
  
"By..?"  
  
"Well, I was wondering if you could please tell me a few things to tell to James to make him more attractive to Lily." He turned to face her, pleadingly. "You don't understand how hard it is - all he talks about is how she will be his, and then when she is he's going to be so happy and -"  
  
"I'm really sorry," replied Jackie genuinely. "But Lily really interested in Ben Corners, and I definitely think that James is on a pointless crusade. But I'm really sorry," she repeated. She patted his shoulder lightly, then headed off without him, her blonde ponytail bobbing cheerfully behind her.  
  
"It's okay," he said, after her retreating figure. "You just helped me out tons..."  
  
A/N: Didn't I tell you that this chapter would be sooo much better? Wasn't it?  
  
Disclaimer: Nope. I don't anything, 'cept for Jena and Jackie. And Ben. Has anyone picked up on him yet? I'm being really brilliant, you know! 


	3. chapter three

_**.chapter three.**_  
  
Being Head Girl was a stressful event. All of the prefects had been rather nice and polite and didn't whine when they had to pass out schedules, and Remus Lupin was being rather nice, but all of the responsibility was really the stressful part. Lily had to decide if they would have balls (she and Remus were sort of debating the issue, whether or not to have a Halloween dance) and schedule the Quidditch matches and make sure that the students behaved and that the first years didn't get harassed too badly by people like James Potter and Sirius Black. It was rather enjoyable, but by dinner the first day, Lily was wondering why she had wanted to become Head Girl in the first place.  
  
That evening while she was in the library, doing a bit of extra studying, she saw Ben Corners and James Potter walk in together, in a deep conversation about Quidditch, one thing they seemed to have in common. Ben was the Keeper for the Ravenclaw team, and James wast he Seeker for the Gryffindor team. They were probably discussing the Tornadoes, and how they were having the worst losing streak for a very long time. Lily didn't particularly care to talk to Ben when he was speaking with James; the possibilities for humiliating disaster were just too much. She tried to catch what they were saying, but quickly gave up on that and went back to studying. She didn't even realize that James had sat down beside her until she felt someone tapping their fingers on the table top, and Lily really hated when people did that. It was so annoying and got on her last nerve.  
  
She was not surprised to see that when she looked up that James was sitting across from her, grinning broadly, likehe had every right to be there, even though he wasn't doing any research or studying. But it also meant he wasn't terrorizing elevon year olds, so she was sort of glad that he was there.  
  
"'Ello," he said.  
  
"Hi." She tucked a strand of wavey red hair behind her ear and asked, "What do you want?"  
  
"Lily," he said, grabbing his heart as though in great pain, "I am shocked to hear you say that! I would never, ever want to take anything from you. I just would like to enjoy your company," he said so sincerely that it made Lily very, very cauticous. She had fallen for this stunt before, and she wasn't about to now.  
  
"Oh." She glanced back down at her work, which was a potions essay that wasn't due for a long time, but she wanted to get it done quickly so she wouldn't have to worry about it on top of everything else. She heard him scoot his chair over, siddling up beside her.  
  
"You're looking really lovely today," he said, leaning close to her.  
  
"You're really not smelling very lovely." She wished that her hand would stop quivering as she help her quill, poised to start scribbling down facts. She found that he was so close that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek. She had a sick feeling in her stomach, like he was going to lick her face or something, so she tried to scoot away.  
  
"It must be my aftershave." He was whispering, and Lily really felt like stabbing him in the eye with the her quill, but thought that would be rather extreme for simply being uncomfortabley close to her.  
  
"Um, James, could you back off?"  
  
"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked.  
  
"No," she lied, shifting slightly in her seat. "I just really am going to hurl all over you. You're quite rank."  
  
"I'll move if you do something for me." He was closer now, and Lily was really getting antsy to get away from him. Being so close to someone she really disliked was liking being forced to eat her least favorite food and pretending not to be bothered by it.  
  
"What?" she asked exasperatedly.  
  
"Go out with me."  
  
She turned to face him, eyebrows raised, a grin on her face. "James Potter, how much do you like being shot down? Because I've gotta tell you, this has to be the tenth time I'm going to say no. At least the tenth." She stood up, closing her book and putting her things into her knapsack as James stared at her in disbelief. "Plus, why should I go out with you? I don't even like you." She shook her head and chuckled, recieving a glare from Madam Pince, as well as a loud, "SHH!"  
  
With a final glance at him, sitting in his chair with him mouth hanging open, she strutted off, trying not to laugh too much.

:::........:::

"And she said no?" asked Sirius Black, shocked. James nodded glumly. "The bloody bitch! I've gotten at least four girls to go out with me that way -"  
  
"Don't call her a 'bitch,'" said Remus defensively. "She's my co - worker, and I have to get along with her. I think she's rather smart for not going out with you, Prongs." Remus didn't glance up from his homework, Transfiguration, as the other Marauders turned to gaze at him in shock. "You act so arrogantly, like it's a privelege for Lily to go out with you or something -"  
  
"It is a privelege," James huffed. "I'm an excellent kisser."  
  
"That's too much information," replied Sirius slowly.  
  
"But she still said no! It's so unfair! I was being nice, smooth.... Maybe she's a lesbian," he said finally. "Maybe Jackie just thinks she likes Ben... no, I heard her -"  
  
"She's not a lesbian. Trust me, I saw her one time, swooning over some Muggle guy. He had messy hair like you though," said Padfoot as though it were some helpful information. "But you know, if she was..."  
  
"Ugh, I don't want to hear it," said Remus. "All you ever talk about is girls! Nothing else, except for Quidditch. You are so barbaric," he said sadly. "And to think I hang out with you by choice." He shook his head and rubbed his temples, then changed the subject. "Full moon in about a month." The last full moon had been only two nights ago, and he was feeling a bit tired from the ordeal. He only hoped that his monthly trips wouldn't have too much of an effect on his duties as Head Boy.  
  
"Yeah. Hey, I'm not barbaric," said Sirius, having just caught the insult. He then crossed his arms over his chest sulkily, sitting back on the couch. The quiet room suddenly errupted in sound, as it had been empty before. There was a high pitch scream from the girls' dorms, then all of the boys and a few girls raced down the stairway into the common room seconds later, looking bed rumpled and discombobulated. "What was that?"  
  
"I'm going to go check," said Remus, lurching forward. He raced up the stairs, which knew that he was Head Boy and were not bewitched for him. The Marauders shared uneasy glances at eachother, wondering what was going on.  
  
Jena awoke to find her two best friends on her bed, kneeling around her, as well as Remus Lupin (though he was not actually on her bed, just beside it). A gaggle of girls, ranging in ages, also surrounded her four - post bed, and she glanced at them nervously and confused. "What's going on?" she asked.  
  
"You were just screaming bloody murder, like something was..."  
  
"Murdering you," Jackie finished for Lily, and they were both pale and concerned. "Was it a bad dream?"  
  
"Yeah, that's all. I'm fine," she said, sitting up. She raked a trembling hand through her thick locks and shook her head. She felt a hand on her bare shoulder, as her tank top strap had slid down her arm. It belonged to Remus, and when she realized it, she was suddenly filled with relief. She closed her eyes and rubbed them momentarily. People were beginning to drift out, disapointed that there was really no drama.  
  
"What was it about?" asked Lily, but Jena simply shook her head. What she saw in her dreams she didn't like to share with other people; they were too horrifying. She sighed warily and turned to her friends.  
  
"It's nothing. I just had a really bad dream is all. I'm okay," she added, and Remus nodded, taking his hand from her shoulder. It felt like she was on fire where his hand had touched her. She watched Lily and Jackie climb off her bed, then into their own. Jena flopped back onto her bed and flung her hand over her eyes, until she realized that Remus was still standing at her bedside.  
  
"You sure you're okay?" he asked, and she nodded, realizing how horrible she must look - pasty and pale, and slightly sweaty, as her night shirt clung to her back. "You know - you can um, tell me anything. I'm always here to listen," he added, dropping the tones of his voice. "I'm Head Boy, it's my job."  
  
She nodded again and so did he, then Remus turned and left, shooing out the younger students. Of course he wouldn't want to talk to her for any other reason than it being his job - Jena was the awkward, shy girl that none of the guys were attracted to, much less noticed. She quickly closed her hangings and then let her eyes drop closed. She would not get much more sleep that night.  
  
A/N: My back hurts so I am going to take a break from the fiction and work on some art or something. More later.. of course..  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, of course. Except for my OC's. 


	4. chapter four

**._chapter four._**  
  
James Potter flinched as the sound of slammed books dropped onto the desk beside him, and a very tired looking Lily Evans slipped into the seat beside it. She was so tired that she obviously did not realize that she had chosen the desk beside him, and he was very glad. It seemed that after the initial excitement of being in school was wearing off, everyone was getting more and more exhausted. James was feeling fresh as a daisy though. Quidditch games started in a couple of weeks, and the Gryffindor team was really strong this year. They had a great new chaser, a kid named Parker Bell, and he could score on anyone.  
  
"Hey Evans," he said softly, and she glanced up from her notes. Professor Binns had begun droning on about the witch hunts and other boring things (well, things that were interesting sounded boring from the ghost teacher's voice - he could commentate a Quidditch match between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors, enemies that were clearly acknowledged by the entire school, and it would bore people to sleep) and Lily was the only person that appeared to be paying attention, except for maybe Remus and Jena Jacobson, who's hand was moving over a paper and he assumed she was taking notes.  
  
"What do you want?" she replied quietly, sounding agitated.  
  
"Just saying hello," he replied with a smirk. The rest of the class went on like that; he would ask her something, she would reply in annoyance, and then they would become quiet. He could hear Padfoot sniggering somewhere in the background and a disapproving sigh come from Remus - who was beginning to become quite the kill joy - as the lesson wore on. By the end of it, Lily was ignoring him and James realized that he had just set himself back a bit on trying to win her over. He just wasn't very good at trying to get girls fall in love with him; usually, they did that on their own.  
  
"Prongs my boy, you are horrible," said Sirius, patting his friend's shoulder as they trudged drearily out of the classroom. "That was just the most entertaining thing I've seen all day." He raked a hand through his hair and nodded at a group of fourth year girls that walked past, who dissolved into schoolgirlish giggles. He loved making the younger ladies wild for him.  
  
"I know. And you know what? Being horrible feels pretty good," he said as he ruffled his hair up messily, a smug grin on his face as he caught Lily glaring at him, her eyes almost as fiery as her hair. "It's a pity though, because I really do like her. I just wish I knew how to get her to -"  
  
He halted, and the conversation ceased to exist. His eyes widened in disgust and evil pleasure as he spotted his favorite enemy, a greasy, hook nosed bloke by the name of Severus Snape, came into his view. The Marauders all stopped, their eyes taking the same, sharp glint as they saw him. Students in the corridor hurried to get out of the way; it was common knowledge that James Potter and Severus Snape did not get along, as most Slytherins and Gryffindors didn't. But this was something than ran deeper than house rivalry and loyalty; this ran down to their bones, the hatred each bore for the other.  
  
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Snivellous," he found himself saying, and he could hear a few gasps as he eased his frame and started to close the distance between them. Snape stood there, hatred gleaming in his eyes, acne - scared cheeks flushed in anger and loathing. James saw Evans out of the corner of his eye, biting her lip anxiously. 'I'll only counter jinx him,' he thought, 'if he makes the first move. If he does, then I'll retalliate.'  
  
"Potter," said Snape is a hoarse voice.  
  
"I'm so glad to see that you remember my name. Very good job." James grinned, twirling his wand around in his fingers casually. He heard Padfoot snicker behind him.  
  
"I remember a lot, Potter. Like the fact that you aren't so strong without your cronies and an audience to keep you up," Snape spat, and James simply chuckled. Snape was lying and they both knew it, but they both also knew that it was true; without the audience, James really wouldn't have put on so much of a show. There was the sound of some birds cawing ominously in the distance, but otherwise, everything was still.  
  
"Whatever you say, Snivellous," said James. The bell rang for classes, but no one was moving, not even Lily or Remus, who were both the Heads and it was their duty to keep events like this from happening. But it was apparent that Remus wasn't going to do anything, and Lily kept glancing nervously back and forth, probably wondering what she should do.  
  
Suddenly, with a flourish, Snape produced his wand and jabbed it in James' direction, mouth open about to shout a hex -  
  
"That is enough!" exclaimed Lily, stepping between the two, which was a rather risky thing to do. They both had taken the assumed duelling position, wand arm straight out at oponent, the other above their head like they were fencing. She knew that James would do anything to protect her though, so she had chanced it. "Twenty points from both of your houses, and detention for you both! Now, I suggest you head down to McGonnagall's office," she said, conjuring up a note pad. She scribbled something down while the students watched in awe at the two enemies. James looked shocked at her, like she had just broken his broomstick in two, and Snape sneered at her.  
  
"Using a girl to fight your battles now, Potter?" he smirked.  
  
"Fifty points from Slytherin," said Remus suddenly. "And I would listen to the redhead."  
  
:::......:::  
  
At dinner that night, with many Gryffindors clearly angry with her, Lily sulked over her mashed potatoes and gravy. She sighed, dropping her fork all together, and stood up from the table. "I'm not feeling very well," she told Jackie and Jena as the Gryffindors glared at her. "I'm going up to the common room to do some homework...."  
  
"All right," said Jena softly. Jackie simply nodded, accustomed to their friends way of dealing with the stress. She tended to run away from it.  
  
"Jeez," said Sirius Black loudly, so the two would overhear. "I don't see what you see in that girl. She's obviously not loyal to the Gryffindor house, taking those points away and giving you detention." He glanced over at Jackie, not so slyly, to see her glaring daggers at him. "You must love the authority figure or something."  
  
"Nah, she's just gorgeous... smart, funny...." James didn't get that he was supposed to be down talking her. For some reason, he liked her more because she wasn't afraid to be mean to him. He didn't quite know what it was about that Evans girl that made his heart go all a - flutter. It might have been those eyes, which made him feel like she could see right into his soul sometimes. Or at least right through him. It was unsettling.  
  
"Oh," said Sirius dumbly.  
  
"Sirius, you're such a ... a..." Jackie turned to face him, buttering knife in hand. Her eyes were dark and flaming, and he grinned. He liked the look in her eyes right then, as though she were dangerous or something. He would love to see her before a Quidditch match. "You're such a bastard!" She dropped the knife onto the table, then stood up, and stalked off angrily.  
  
"Wow," said Remus, grinning. "No wonder you two have so many girl friends."  
  
"Shut up," they said in unison, and Peter, being the daft one he was, nodded as a come back. Jena smiled at Remus, who caught her eye momentarily. She stood up and grabbed the notebook she always carried with her, and followed the trail her two best friends took from the Great Hall. Tonight was going to be a long one - full of complaining for both parties.  
  
:::......:::  
  
A/N: Sorry so short everyone! Sincerely I am!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, people. Come on, get with the now!  
  
Roxy: Thanks! I know I don't have much updated, but I'm on chapter nineteen as I type this. I'm a slow poster but quick writer. I do do pictures of my characters, but I don't have a scanner or any way of posting them on the net. Shall I take up a fund for a scanner?  
  
Belle: I love James/Lily fics! Might I suggest "The Parents Who Died" by Someone the First, "The Flower and The Stag" by Tropical Fishy, and "10 Things I Hate About You," by Tropical Fishy as well? I believe they are the pioneers of MWPP/L fanfiction, as they are a lot of the influence in my fics! 


	5. chapter five

**_.chapter five._**  
  
The next couple of weeks went by without much interruption: Lily and James were still disagreeing, though Jackie and Sirius had made up long enough to retalliate against the Slytherins by putting dungbombs in the boys lavatory very late at night, and Jena and Remus were often caught gazing at eachother through crowded corridors and the common room buzz. By early October, Remus and Lily had come to the conclusion that there would be a Halloween ball for fourth years and up, and it was to be a costume ball. James asked Lily immediately, and she shot him down just as quickly. She was hoping that Ben Corners, though there had been no further news with him other than a few short conversations about Quidditch and how annoying homework was, would finally realize his love for her and ask her to go out. Jackie, on the other hand, had grown bored with her crush on Ryan Chang, and was moving on to a sixth year Ravenclaw called Perry Patil, who was rather good looking. Everything was uneventful until the first Quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor versus Slytherin.  
  
Lily and Jena bundled up in coats and their scarlet and gold scarves, which they would around their neck a couple times due to their very long length. Jackie and James had left early as she was on the team, but they met up with Remus, Sirius, and Peter in the common room before they headed out to the pitch.  
  
"I swear, if we lose to Slytherin, I will personally kill James and them myself," Sirius was saying as they made their from the front steps of the school to the field. It was promising to be a spectacular game, and the crowd was quite torn between schools. The Slytherins were sticking together, sneering at anyone that passed. Once they reached their seats, they huddled together for warmth and Sirius added, "I'll kill Jackie too... better score a lot."  
  
"Mr. Black, it's just a game!" exclaimed Professor Flitwick cheerfully. They were sitting in the teacher's box, due to the fact that Sirius was the commentator of the games. Professor Dumbledore said that having students announce the games was much more enjoyable than the teachers, as the students often got much more riled up and were much more enthusiastic. Sirius was a bit over the top.  
  
Sirius started blowing air through his lips, making them flap, and grinned at the girls' strange looks. "I'm warming up," he explained, and they nodded in realization. Madam Hooch motioned for him to start, with the team line ups and such, so he began. He said Slytherins names quietly and very loathingly as they came onto the field, flying laps around the stadium. But when the Gryffindow team appeared on the field, their scarlet outfits a sign of hope for their loyal fans, Sirius broke out in pandimonium.  
  
"Jackie Storms is the new chaser for this great team! She promises to be a great player, and is also pretty hot - sorry professor," he added at McGonnagall's disapproving tut. "And last but not least, my good ol' pal, James Potter! The best seeker that Gryffindor has EVER HAD!" The Gryffindor fans cheered loudly while the Slytherin's booed. It was about a sixty - forty crowd, in Gryffindors favor, and Lily found herself praying that their team won - for Jackie's benefit, of course.  
  
"All right, as the game begins... Slimy Slytherins have posession of the ball. Flint passes to Goyle, Goyle to ... INTERCEPTED! Jackie Storms has the ball, she's zooming towards the rings... AND SHE SCORES!" he shouted into the voice magnifer. "TEN TO ZERO, GRYFFINDOR'S LEAD!"  
  
The teachers gave polite claps while the Gryffindor students jumped up and down happily. Jena was beginning to see what this Quidditch stuff was all about.  
  
James was zooming around, keeping a close eye out for the golden snitch. His chocolate brown eyes scanned the stadium slowly, picking up on every detail. He heard the Gryffindor side errupt in cheers again - twenty to zero now - and watched at the Slytherin seeker, a heavy girl named Maudy Zebra, analyzed the scene as well...  
  
And then he saw it. Glittering across the stadium, nearly twenty feet below Gryffindor's keeper. James knew that Zebra girl had no chance - her Clean Sweep had nothing on his Nimbus - and he went for it, like a streak of lightning. He was just about there, arm outstretched to reach it, fingers grazing the smooth surface, when he felt a very painful sensation explode within him, and he shot forward off his broom, falling straight down very quickly, until he was flat on his back in the field.  
  
His chest hurt to breathe, and he was gasping. But he felt something flittering around in his hand; he opened it up and the golden snitch flew out a foot away from it. He grinned, winningly, then everything became a blur... and then black.  
  
:::......:::  
  
The next thing James knew, he was in the hospital wing, with Peter, Remus, Sirius, Jena, Jackie, and Lily looming over his bed, faces worried but Sirius' not worried at all, simply... glowling from his happiness at the defeat.  
  
"I think he's coming around," said Jackie slowly, still dressed in her Quidditch uniform. She went to get Madam Pomfrey, and Sirius was nearly jumping up and down in excitement. He felt a hand on his forehead and gazed up to see Madam Pomfrey above him. Peter looked as though he was going to wet himself from the excitment.  
  
"Is he all right?" asked Moony.  
  
"He's fine... didn't even fracture a rib, the lucky one. He should be able to leave after he gets a good nights' rest."  
  
"He's going to miss the party in his honor!" exclaimed Sirius, disapointed. He raked a hand through his hair and sighed sulkily. "That Flint git was aiming for you, Prongs. Everyone saw it - prat didn't even get in trouble..."  
  
"S'okay," replied James. "I'm fine. Just a couple bruises is all." He coughed momentarily and grinned up at Lily. "Were you worried that I was going to die before you could admitt you're undying love for me?" He grinned as her face flushed and she muttered something under her breath, but it sounded like a cuss word.  
  
"I was worried enough for you! You should have let it go longer so I could have scored some more. I had a great play -" said Jackie, but she was cut off by Sirius who finished telling the complicated tale in a way that made everyone realize why he was the announcer - James thought idley that maybe Padfoot should teach for Professor Binns.  
  
"That's enough for today, kids... better had back now so Mr. Potter can rest," said Madam Pomfrey, ushering the students out dutifully. "And you, Mr. Potter - get some rest."  
  
:::......:::  
  
The next morning, Lily trudged down to breakfast, sleepy and happy at their victory over Slytherin. The party had been a long one, and Lily didn't have to power nor will to disband the happy students. As she entered the Great Hall, she remembered how Sirius began singing the Hogwarts school song at the top of his voice, which was quite entertaining as well as deafening. She sat down at the table, thankful that it was a Sunday and there were no classes. She was just pouring herself juice when she heard a loud ruckus, and the owls came flying in. An issue of the Daily Prophet landed on her empty plate, and she unrolled it.  
  
What she read nearly caused her to go into cardio arrset.  
  
'Three Mysterious Deaths in Diagon Alley,' read the front page, and there were pictures of three people that Lily didn't recognize frowning up at her. Then, the article continued, in painful detail, the events of the night and how the killer was still on the lose. She showed it to Jackie as soon as she arrived, and the two simply sat in stunned silence for what seemed like an eternity.  
  
"Who do you think..?" But Lily shook her head, deferring the question. She had spotted the Marauders, who were huddled down at the end of the table, looking suspicious and muttering softly to eachother. She didn't have a good feeling about this - especially when James glanced over at her, and he didn't look his usual mischievous self. Something was going on - and James Potter knew what it was.  
  
:::......:::  
  
A/N: BUM BUM BUM! Sorry so short again... sincerely I am.  
  
Lucylishous: yes, Ben scrambled forms... Neb...Ebn..Nbe... No, just reread Harry Potter #5 and see who Ginny is dating. Then, read my fic and keep reviewing... And, when I get to the second story of this fic, you will realize what is going on! Sorry that I can't say more, thanks for reviewing though!  
  
Roxy: I shall take up a fund. Want to be the first to donate?  
  
Disclaimer: What do you think?  
  
Please Review! 


	6. chapter six

**_.chapter six._**

**__**  
James Potter didn't need to read the Prophet to know what was going on; he had already gotten an owl about it late last night. Of course, it was from him, the one who called himself Lord Voldemort. James had first heard of the guy when he was a first year; recieving letters from him. And then he heard his parents talking about him late at night in the kitchen when they thought that he was asleep. It seemed that he was a dark wizard that was on the rise, trying to sort out the pure bloods from the muggle - borns, and he wanted to make the magical world "pure," as though having witches and wizards that were born to Muggle families was an unclean thing. James didn't know why Lord Voldemort wanted him; in his letters, he said that James was a worthy oponenet that was worthy of being on the Dark Side. James tried to get the letters to stop, by ignroing them or sending howlers back or just telling him to stop. But Voldemort only grew more and more persistant, not leaving him alone and disturbing him late at night with his post. And now he had begun to kill people to get James on his side. At least, that was what last night's letter had told him.  
  
He chose three old wizards, people that James had only met once during a visit to Diagon to buy school things, but it still hurt him to know that the reason they died was because of him. It made his stomach twist into knots and it made him want to hurl. The only people who knew about it were the Marauders, of course; they wouldn't breathe a word of it to anyone.  
  
That morning in the Great Hall, everyone was buzzing about the killings. Daily Prophets were on high demand. A short, stout boy called Robert McKrinney from Hufflepuff said that one of the old men had been his great uncle twice removed, or something like that. He had to be escorted to the hospital wing, as he fainted.  
  
"What'd you expect from someone like that?" asked Sirius as the group huddled at the Gryffindor table. They weren't eating with their usual vigor - their plates were empty - and it would have been a highly suspicious thing if someone noticed, but no one did as they were wrapped up in the mysterious killings. "Someone trying to rid the community of muggle - borns... sounds like a Slytherin if I ever heard one."  
  
"We should tell someone James. You should tell Dumbledore," said Remus, his voice concerned and tired. "This is really serious, especially now - we shouldn't have waited so long to tell someone." He too was feeling very guilty, but not nearly as much as James.  
  
"We can't tell someone! They'll blame Prongs!" exclaimed Wormtail, his boyish face pale and frightful. That wast he last thing he wanted - Peter could picture James being escorted into Askaban, never to be heard from again.  
  
"They can't blame Prongs. It wasn't his fault," said Sirius pointedly. "Just because he's on the good side -"  
  
"But it was my fault," said James quietly.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous," said Padfoot, shaking his head. "This guy is nutters, he's completely nutters - and it's not your fault if he has an insane obsession with you and killing all muggle borns." That was easy for Sirius to say; he was a pure blood, his family was safe. And it wasn't like the dark wizard had the obsession with him.  
  
"You've got to tell Dumbledore," concluded Remus. "If you don't, I will. It's my duty -"  
  
"Bugger your duties!" exclaimed Sirius loudly, and Peter kept glancing back and forth between the two like it was a tennis match. "You're James friend and that comes before duties. We're all Marauders, we don't rat on eachother -"  
  
"But this is endangering the lives of others, and I can't -"  
  
They all hushed when they saw that Lily Evans was standing behind James, arms crossed over her chest, Daily Prophet hanging limply from one of her hands.  
  
"What are you all looking so suspicious about?" she asked, and the boys glanced between eachother. James turned around to face her, a slow smile forming on his face.  
  
"Nothing, Evans, honest," he said. "We were just discussing -"  
  
"The Prophet?" she asked, her emerald eyes widening in a mix of emotions. "It's completely horrible isn't it? I'd love to find the guy..." She cleared her thoat, then glanced at Remus. "We've got to report to McGonnagall - impromptu meeting I guess..." She trailed off, then tucked the wisps of fiery red hair that had struggled free from her ponytail behind her ears. "It's horrible though."  
  
"Yeah," agreed James glumly. "It's rotten."  
  
:::......:::  
  
Later that day, after being told to do "Damage Control," as Professor McGonnagall called it, ("it" being: Helping students recover from their shock, send them to the Hospital Wing if they're too devastated, and tell them that nothing like that would ever happen in Hogwarts, and if they don't believe you, refer them to "Hogwarts, A History.") Lily Evans sat in the library, finishing a research report for her Muggle Studies class. She heard someone slide their books at her table, and watched as James Potter sunk down into the chair across from her.  
  
"What do you want, Potter?" she asked, taking the defense in annoyance.  
  
"Nothing from you, Evans. This was the only available table," he replied, and she glanced around. He was telling the truth; many students were sitting around, reading through thich books that were yellowing with age. She sheepishly mumbled, "oh" and went back to her studying.  
  
"Can I ask your advice, Evans?" he asked slowly, and Lily glanced up. She nodded slowly, having the feeling that James was going to be very serious for once, and that was something that did not happen often. "If you knew about something - say some mysterious deaths - and who did it... and why they did it... would you tell people?"  
  
"Of course," she replied. "It sounds like you have some personal relation to the Prophet article?" It was more of a statement than a question.  
  
"No, no... nothing like that." He cleared his throat and scooted his chair closer to Lily's so he could whisper. "It's just that... I have a friend that does. And he thinks that he should go tell, but he doesn't know if um, he'll get in trouble or anything."  
  
"Well, I would always tell. Dumbledore is very wise James, and he would know how to help your... friend." She gazed seriously into his hazel eyes, which were an array of confusion, gratefulness, and something that Lily couldn't identify. It was rather unsettling.  
  
"Thanks," he said softly. "I'm going to go... tell my friend that. What you said." He stood up, and nodded. "Thanks." Then he ruffled up his hair in thought, gathered his books, and stalked off quickly from the library.  
  
'I wonder what that was about,' though Lily as she went back to her work. She couldn't concentrate quite as well for the rest of the day.  
  
:::......:::  
  
Jena was sitting alone in the common room, late at night, sketch pad in her lap and drawing pencil in hand. She sighed quietly to herself, connect one curved line to another, forming the likeness of a man's face. She shaded everything perfectly, and after a few moments, she had created what appeared to be Remus Lupin. He was leaning over his desk, glancing up towards the board in one of his classes, sandy blonde hair falling just so.... This was the way that Jena always saw him, handsome and smiling slightly.  
  
Almost as though he had read her thoughts, the tall, thin boy trudged down the boys' dormitory staircase, groggily. He glanced at Jena, seeming unsurprised to find her there. He meandered over to the over - stuffed chair opposite of her's and grinned. "Hello."  
  
"Hi," she said softly. "What are you doing up?"  
  
"I could ask the same of you... but you asked first. I was making sure that the younger students had gone to bed - one of them was planning on staying up all night because he thought he was going to be killed in his sleep by something... some Slytherin told him a grand story about monsters I believe." Jena grinned, and he added, "It was a very baffling one about hippogriff ghosts that suck the life out of you from your toes."  
  
"That sounds very interesting. I'll have to find the Slytherin who told him." She tucked her mocha brown hair behind her ears and smiled warmly at him, and he returned the smile. They sat in silence for a while, until Remus asked her again what she was doing up. "I'm drawing," she replied shyly.  
  
"Drawing? Can I see?" She shook her head no, heat rushing to her cheeks. She didn't want him to find out that she had been drawing him. "Please?" he asked, standing up. He closed the distance between the two and flopped onto the couch beside her, and Jena pulled the sketch book up to her chest and shook her head again.  
  
"They're not any good... you're going to laugh...." He pryed the book from her hands as the gave up, and he took a gander at what she had been drawing. His eyes widened and he glanced over at her. She had almost a frightened look on her face; but the majority of it was embarrassment.  
  
"This is really good... you've made me quite handsome, don't you think?"  
  
"I didn't make you handsome... that's just how you look." She couldn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth, and wished that she could just sink into the couch and it would swallow her alive.  
  
"D'you think so?" She nodded.  
  
They sat in an awkward silence for a moment, Jena staring at her feet and Remus staring at the picture she had drawn, until he said, quite out of the blue, "I rather fancy you, Jena." Then he stood up slowly, raked a hand through his hair, and headed up to the boys' dorms again.  
  
"I fancy you too," she whispered to him, but he wasn't there to hear.  
  
:::......:::  
  
A/N: That was rather sappy, wasn't it? I'm sticking to the chair it was so sappy... Thank you all for reviewing, if you have. If you haven't, you should get on it! I need suggestions!  
  
Disclaimer: No, I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I SAY THIS?????  
  
Please review!


	7. chapter seven

**_.chapter seven._**  
  
"Jackie!"  
  
"What?" Turning around, Jackie Storms glared at Sirius Black. They were supposed to be working on their potions during a double class with the Slytherins, but she was finally it very hard to concentrate when Sirius Black kept calling her name and then pretended that he hadn't. Lily rolled her eyes from the cauldron beside her, and it was obvious that she was not in the mood for any of the Marauders shenanigans today.  
  
"Nothing," replied Sirius, adding the next ingridient to the potion. It was turning a rather lovely shade of orange, while Jackie's was turning rather purple. She had a feeling that she was doing something wrong; potions was not her best class.  
  
A few more moments of silence, and Jackie added just a pinch of this really smelly green substance called Wenticka. Then the potion started turning the same color of Lily's hair. What was she doing wong, she wondered. Then she read the direction on the board, and realized that...  
  
"Jackie!" Sirius hissed, sounding alarmed.  
  
"What?!" she cried, loudly, startling the whole class.  
  
"Is there a problem, Mr. Black, Miss Storms?" asked the professor.  
  
"No, I was just trying to tell Jackie that she's got a rather large whole in the back of her socks," said Sirius, pointing. When she looked down, confused, Jackie found that there was indeed a whole, but there hadn't been one there when she put them on that morning....  
  
"Thanks, Black," she replied, turning back around. Maybe it was the fact that she had a big game coming up the next day, and it was against Ravenclaw - they had a pretty decent Keeper on their team - that was making Jackie so absentminded. Also, it was making her quite worried about the outcome of the game. She wanted nothing more for than Gryffindor to with the Cup; it would be the perfect finish to her last year at Hogwarts.  
  
After class, Jackie headed in the direction of the Gryffindor tower so she could change her socks, and Sirius Black caught up to her.  
  
"What's up?" he asked, slinging his arm over her slender shoulders.  
  
"Not a lot," she replied, unsure whether she should shrug it off or not. He was hurting her hair though, which was trapped beneath his arm, so she quickly repositioned her hair and his arm. "Are you following me?"  
  
"I prefer the term escorted. I don't want anything to happen to my favorite Quidditch player," he added, pinching her blushing cheek. Jackie had sort of had a crush on Sirius since the third year, but they both had an extensive list of ex's under their belt, and Jackie wasn't exactly sure if she wanted or needed a boyfriend right now...  
  
"I'm sure I'll be fine." Jackie grinned up at Sirius to find him watching her thoughtfully. "What've you got on your mind, Sirius? You can tell me."  
  
"Well.. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the costume ball with me on Halloween."  
  
"Blimey! I'd forgotten all about that.... I'd love to go with you Sirius!" she exclaimed. "What should we go as?"  
  
"I was thinking escaped prisoners from Azkaban..."  
  
:::......:::  
  
With Halloween right around the corner, Lily and Remus had a lot of planning to do. They had to figure out how long to have the ball go to, and who would judge the best costume contest, and who would be playing.... They finally decided on a band called the Magic Wands, who were supposed to be very good, and Professor Dumbledore was appointed as the costume judge. It was open for fourth years to seventh years, and it was not mandatory to have a date. Lily turned James down as soon as he asked her, and was waiting for Ben Corners to ask her out.  
  
That day came on October 18, the day of the big Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw match. This was not as big as the Slytherin game, but still quite a popular match. The Ravenclaws decorated one side of the stadium with their blue and white scarves, and Gryffindor on the other with scarlet and gold. Lily and Jena decided to not sit with Sirius this time, instead they joined their schoolmates in the stands, with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, who were looking quite excited for the upcoming match.  
  
"I hope Ben gets knocked off his broom," said Peter quite loudly.  
  
Lily pulled a face at him. "Why in the world would you want that?" she asked him.  
  
"Because then James -"  
  
"No reason. Wormtail and Ben don't get along," said Remus, clapping a hand over Peter's mouth before he could utter a reply. Peter caught on after a moment, then nodded, eyes wide.  
  
"Oh," said Lily. "I quite like Ben -"  
  
"She fancies him," interjected Jena, grinning broadly at Remus who was beaming back at her.  
  
"I do not," replied Lily, cheeks flaming red.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't blame you if he did. But I heard that his grades are slipping due to being on the team, you know. Too many obligations, not enough study time. It's a shame, isn't it?" asked Remus, gazing out at the field as the Ravenclaw team took the field, and there were choruses of boo's coming from the Gryffindor side.  
  
"That's too bad," said Jena, and Lily pulled another face. Jena and Remus shared a look; the Marauders, Jackie, and Jena had a secret plan that was slowly coming into play. Of course, Lily and James had no knowledge of the plan, but that was for the better (especially on Lily's part, as she was a redhead and had a tendency to get very angry at people for conspiring behind her back).  
  
"Yeah," mumbled Lily. The game was beginning, Sirius was announcing the teams, and then the whistle was blown.  
  
"The quaffle is caught by Jackie Storms - my date for the ball, mind you - she's racing down the pitch - and she scores! Looks like Ravenclaw needs a new Keeper!" he shouted enthusiastically. "The quaffle is in Ravenclaw's posession...." That was followed by a loud booing from the Gryffindor side as Ravenclaw scored. Sirius took this time to cuss out the Chaser, then added, "Sorry Professor..." sheepishly at the end.  
  
It went on like that for a very long time, until the score was forty to fifty, Gryffindor leading. Then James, who had been circling the field, dive bombed at a death defying rate, faster than anything Lily had ever seen before. Then he pulled out just before he hit the ground, and pulled up, hot in the pursuit of the golden snitch. The Ravenclaw seeker, Ryan Chang, was racing towards him, but it was too late. James finally reached the snitch, grabbed it, and began doing all sorts of tricks on his broom.  
  
"YES! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" shouted Sirius, jumping up and down excitedly from the Professor's box. Dumbledore was watching him, amused.  
  
Lily decided to wait for Jackie outside of the locker room, but before Jackie came out, Ben Corners did. He was looking very crestfallen, especially when he saw Lily.  
  
"Hello," he said glumly, leaning against the wall and blocking Lily's view of the entrance to the locker room. "Good game for you?"  
  
"Yeah," she admitted. "But you played really well - especially that block!" He turned pink at her compliment and then she turned pink too, her freckles standing out.  
  
"Um, Lily..." he said, turning serious. "Do you have a date for the Halloween ball?" She shook her head no. "Do you want to go with me? I was thinking that we could be like, Muggle celebrities, you know -"  
  
"I'd love to!" she exclaimed, cutting him off. "That sounds like a really good idea, too."  
  
"Really? Great. Well, I'd better go... don't want to miss the team lecture." He bent down and kissed her cheek, and then jogged off. Lily's hand flew to where he had kissed her, and she was as scarlet at Jackie and James' Quidditch uniforms. They had been standing there the entire time, it seemed, as James was looking angry and Jackie was looking happy.  
  
"You're going with Ben Corners, but you wouldn't go with me?" he asked. "A fellow Gryffindor -" He shook his head angrily then stomped off, and Jackie gave Lily a bizarre look.  
  
"Now he's off to brood... I'm going with Sirius, you know..." Obviously, she was not worried about James and his tantrum.  
  
:::......:::  
  
A/N: Posted part one today! I'm sooooooo excited! I'm off to watch I love the 80's now, because I do love the 80's. Thank you my reviewers, I really love you all very, very much! More than I love Vanilla Coke, and I couldn't live without that so... I couldn't live without you doubled!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it.  
  
Dedication: Lexi and Danielle, who are working very hard on my HP shirt for the premiere.  
  
Please Review! 


	8. chapter eight

**_.chapter eight._**  
  
That night after the Quidditch match, Remus and Jena were sitting together in the common room, drinking butterbeer that James and Sirius smuggled up from the kitchens, while the celebration was in full swing. Many first years had been sent up to bed, as it was well past midnight and first years tended to be quite grouchy if they didn't get sleep. Lily was trying to get everyone to settle down a bit and get to bed, or else McGonnagall would show up and basically there would be hell to pay. No one was listenning to her, of course, and she had given up. James was trying very hard not to ask her to dance, that was apparent.  
  
"D'you think that James is ever going to fall for this plan?" asked Jena, leaning close to Remus so he could hear her.  
  
"Of course! James can do anything he wants, and basically everything he wants he gets," said Remus, leaning forward so his lips nearly brushed the shell of her ear as he spoke. Jena could feel his hot breath against her cheek and nearly shivered in delight. "It's his James - ism." They giggled and Jena felt very, very happy. She tucked her knees beneath her and found his arm around her waist, her leaning in close to him now, and all of this had happened without her knowledge. Not that she minded; it was rather very cozy.  
  
"Lily can be very strong willed though," Jena pointed out, leaning her head on his shoulder. He rested his chin atop her head, and they both sighed happily.  
  
"I think James will get her though... it's taken him several years obviously, but that just made him want her more. It's the hard to get quality, you know. Sometimes you get bored when you get something too easily," said Remus, and that made Jena pull back gentley. Was she being too easy? She wondered. Is that why he was bringing this up?  
  
"I think I'd better go to bed," she said slowly, stretching and yawning for effect.  
  
"Oh," said Remus, surprised. "Okay..." He stood up too, watching her for a moment. "Do you want to go to the ball with me?"  
  
"Um... I guess," she said off - handishly, though secretly, inside, she was really cheering in silent victory.  
  
"Really? Great!" he grinned and bent down, kissing her forehead softly. "Good night."  
  
"Night," she said, smiling softly and heading upstairs almost in a dreamy state.  
  
:::......:::  
  
"So... Sirius," said Jackie, as they sat on the stairs of the boys dormitory, seemingly engaged in a humorous conversation. But really, they were discussing much more serious, important plans. Life altering plans. "We have Lily going with Ben, James going with... Giselle Song? Lily and Ben are going as muggle celebrities and James and Giselle are going to be...?"  
  
"Quidditch player and veela," replied Sirius. "I bet both girls are going to look good, but Lily will be much hotter as Giselle will have all that make up and such..." Sirius sounded exasperated with the topic, but that could have been because all James talked about was Lily and how she was so gorgeous and things like that. "The plan for us is...?"  
  
"I think we should go as left over food. Like spaggetti wrapped up in aluminum foil? You could be the meat and I'll be the sauce or something?" Jackie had been giving the idea a lot of thought, and she decided that she wanted to be something fun and original.  
  
"I don't think that would be very comfortable for dancing," replied Sirius, and Jackie nodded.  
  
"I hadn't thought of that... I forgot about the dancing." She sighed and glanced up at him. "You have any ideas?"  
  
"I still think we should be escaped prisoners from Azkaban.... Maybe we should be super heroes?" They both shook their head. "Well, we'll have to figure out soon, the dance is in two weeks... we need to buy costumes etc."  
  
"We still have to get Lily and James together too! Jeez, what are we going to do?" asked Jackie, feeling very overwhelmed suddenly.  
  
"It's okay," said Sirius, patting her shoulder. "If all else fails, we can charm them..."  
  
:::......:::  
  
The next morning, everyone had climbed down their stairwells equally tired but cheerful, joking around playfully about last night. Jena and Remus decided they were going to go down to the library to do some homework, James and Jackie had Quidditch practice, which left Sirius, Peter, and Lily to sit around the common room and banter for a while.  
  
"I can't believe you turned James down," said Peter, seeming very angry about this. "You must not realize how great he is."  
  
"Are you insane?" asked Lily, pulling a face. "James Potter is the most arrogant, selfish, egotistical..." she breathed in angrily, "human being that I ever met. I could never go out with him - he would be too... he would ask me to wear a mirror so when he told me he loved me he could look into his reflection when he said it."  
  
"That's very untrue!" scolded Sirius. "Lils, I though you knew Prongsie better than that. He really does love you, no matter what you think. And I think deep down you want to love him back, but you won't let yourself."  
  
"You are very thick, Sirius," said Lily pointedly. He muttered something that sounded like, "That's what all the ladies say," but Lily chose to ignore that. "James... everything he does is a show. To get people's attention. Don't you remember fifth year? When he had Snape from his underwear?"  
  
"Yeah, that was pretty funny...." He recieved a sharp look from Lily. "God, you're so daft Evans! It's like you only see the bad parts of him, not the good ones. Maybe you should open your eyes a bit, see behind all of that opinionated bullshit you've just said." He stood up sulkily and stalked off, Peter trailing him as though to say, 'There. Take that.'  
  
Lily couldn't help her jaw from dropping open, feeling as though she had just been slapped across the face. Sure, Sirius had teased her about being a redhead and all of that for the past seven years of her life, but he had never done anything or said anything the way as he just had... in a quiet anger that was worse than when he ranted and raged. She gulped nervously, glancing around, and wondered exactly what she was doing. She then stood up, pale faced, and went up the girls' staircase, to have a long, thoughtful rest in her bed.  
  
:::......:::  
  
A/N: That was odd and I didn't like the ending, but I had to end it there so... yes.... Anyway, I just thought I would comment on a few things that are floating around my head. I am thinking, right now, that Dashboard Confessional is a pretty good band. I'm also thinking that I need to buy the new Brand New CD. I also feel like I am going to pee my pants because I'm going to see HP and PoA in about... five days, at midnight on Friday morning... yeah. I'm going as Lupin, well that is who is on my shirt etc. I'm going to wear it with pride.   
  
Disclaimer: of course, I do not own it.  
  
Please Review! 


	9. chapter nine

**_.chapter nine.  
_**  
That night, Lily didn't show up for dinner. Jena decided that she had better go see what was wrong with her, so she left them all and took a roll (Lily's favorite kind, all fluffy and warm) up to the Gryffindor tower with her. When she reached Lily's bedroom, she found her crying quite hard, her face all pink and white blotchy. Her blankets were messy and tangled around her waist, and Jena was quite shocked to find her like that.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Yes," she mumbled sniffily. "I just... I just..." She broke into sobs before she could finish her sentance. "I don't know what I'm doing!"  
  
This took Jena aback quickly, and she furrowed her brow in confusion before climbing onto her friends bed. "What do you mean?" she asked offering her the roll. "Do you mean you don't know what you're doing at Hogwarts?" Lily shook her head 'no' and continued crying, but much quietly. "Did you and James have another row?"  
  
"No... I just think that Sirius is very angry with me, and that I made a rather large mistake in my life. I ..." she hiccuped loudly. "I don't know. I'm feeling really rotten is all." She picked at the dinner roll and shook her head.  
  
"So this is about James." Jena leaned back against the headboard of Lily's bed. "I think that everyone is just... really sick of you two bickering all the time. I know you really dislike him, but he really loves you. I mean, I know you must think he's the most annoying person on the planet but...."  
  
"I know. That's what Sirius got angry about. He said that I was stupid and couldn't see the real James - and then he got angry and stalked off. I mean, maybe if James didn't act so stupid all of the time, maybe I wouldn't hate him so much... I could possibley even become friends with him. I don't mean to hurt his feelings or anything," she added. "It's just..."  
  
"It's okay, Lily. James is very arrogant and everything, but deep down is he a nice person. I mean, look how much better he's gotten since last year... he doesn't hex random people in the corridors anymore -"  
  
"Just Snape."  
  
"Who deserves it," said Jena, pointedly. "And he's very loyal to his friends.... Look at Peter Pettigrew. He's very daft and pratt - ish, but James is very nice about it." She tucked her hair behind her ears and Lily nodded, unable to deny the fact. "And, you know what else, he even seems to be getting handsome. He doesn't ruffle his hair up all the time."  
  
"Yes, but I rather fancy Ben. Ben is a nice guy, he respects everyone and is generally friendly. He didn't even mind too much when we beat them this weekend."  
  
Jena sighed. "I know. Let's just say that you'll be nicer to James, and maybe consider going out with him... sometime. Maybe. Okay?" The girls' eyes met, and Lily nodded glumly. "Good." Jena hugged her and they stayed like that for a while, Lily resting her head on Jena's elbow as Jena smoothed a hand over Jena's hair. "Remus fancies me," she mumbled softly, and Lily pulled back, pulling a face.  
  
"When did this happen?!"  
  
:::......:::  
  
It was a full moon that week, and Remus was feeling a bit exhausted. His eyes were tired and he was feeling a bit less than enthusiastic about going to class and doing his homework, but for some reason, Jena put up with his grouchiness. They were becoming very close, and Jena let him see her work more and more, and not just the pictures of him. She drew a picture of Jackie and Sirius talking one night in the common room, Sirius brushing back Jackie's hair as they smiled at eachother. It was nice.  
  
There was a Hogsmede weekend a week before the dance, so the two decided they would go shopping for their costume then. They weren't sure about what they would be until they stumbled upon a costume shop. They went inside, and were looking around, giggling at the stupid costumes and the ones taht were obviously not meant for children, until Remus found a suit of armor and Jena found a pretty white dress and a tiara, so they decided they would go as Prince Charming and a Princess.  
  
Sirius and Jackie had also gone shopping that weekend, and were browsing the same costume shop when Sirius shouted with glee. He had found a rather weathered looking cowboy outfit, complete with chaps and the wide - brimmed house. Jackie quickly found a saloon girl outfit (having been to America, she had seen quite a few western movies - she had cousins there that were obsessed with things like that) and once they tried them on, it was very apparent that they were destined for the outfits.  
  
"This is so cool," said Jackie. "Who would have thought that we would be cow - people?" They exitted the store, bags in hand, and headed towards the Three Broomsticks, where they had decided to meet Remus and Jena later.  
  
"I wonder if they used the term cow - people. Because that would be funny, wouldn't it?" asked Sirius, opening the door for Jackie as they breezed inside. A dreadful feeling fell upon the two, their smiles turning to frowns, when they saw that their two friends and a casual meeting had turned in a group of people eating together. James, Giselle Song, Remus, Jena, Peter Lily, and Ben Corners sat in a large booth, drinking butter beers and eating fish and chips. "They haven't spotted us, we can easily sneak away...."  
  
"Sirius! Jackie!" shouted James loudly, motioning them over cheerfully. "Come on!"  
  
"Shit," said Sirius under his breath, putting a hand on the small of Jackie's back to guide her over to the table. "Hi everyone."  
  
"Hi," they chorused, as the two new additions pulled chairs over to the table.  
  
"What have you got in the bag?" asked Remus, nodding at their packages.  
  
"Our costumes," said Jackie. "They're top secret - we're definitely going to win the contest," she added confidently. She flicked her long blonde hair over her slender shoulders and took a sip out of Lily's butterbeer. It filled her with warmth.  
  
"No way you're going to beat us," said Ben, his arm around Lily's shoulders. He knew that James was very jealous of him, no matter how much he pretended to be interested in Giselle. And he showed that interest by snogging her every five seconds.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure we will," said James.  
  
"No, we're going to win," said Ben, his voice light. Lily pulled a face at him and rolled her eyes. "We're being very original. Right, Lils?" She nodded absently, taking a very big swig of her butter beer so she wouldn't have to talk. Giselle was simply content to sit there with James arm around her shoulders, being pretty and not speaking.  
  
"So um... what about those Cannons?" asked Remus awkwardly. "Doing pretty well, right?"  
  
"Yeah. I hate the Cannons," said Ben slowly.  
  
"Hate the Cannons? Are you kidding me?" asked James, outraged. "You can't hate the Cannons! They're really very nice people and a nice team..."  
  
"I rather prefer the Tornadoes," he said defensivley.  
  
"The Tornadoes? They haven't won a match since before I was born," said James.  
  
"It doesn't matter if they win or lose, it's how they play. They play well, 'cept for their bloody Seeker," said Ben, and the other occupants of the table (except for Giselle, who was busy flipping her hair being cute) seemed to get the sense that the conversation was no longer about Quidditch.  
  
"Their seeker is horrible and so is their Keeper."  
  
"Oh yeah?" asked Ben, face flushed.  
  
"Yeah," said James, cool as a cucumber.  
  
"Hey, look at that!" exclaimed Jena suddenly. "Is that a ... polar bear?"  
  
:::......:::  
  
A/N: Ooh, the suspense of it all!  
  
Disclaimer: Nope.  
  
Please Review! 


	10. chapter ten

**_.chapter ten._**  
  
The week before the dance was like hell. Lily was worried she was going to break out in zits all over the place, but she didn't. She was also worried that James was going to start a fight with Ben, or something to that effect and vice versa. Classes were painfully slow, and they finally were over, and Lily, Jena, and Jackie trouped up to the common room. They showered and did their hair - Lily straightened her's slightly, then pulled some of it back with little clips that had large flowers on them, deep red roses, which matched her emerald green dress quite nicely. The dress she had gotten was strapless, and form fitting around the bust and through the torso, then flaired out gentley from her hips down to the floor. She looked absolutely stunning.  
  
Jena had curled her mocha brown hair, so it fell in soft, gentle curls at her shoulders. Her white dress had off the shoulder sleeves, a sweetheart neckline and an Empire waist line, which meant that she skirt started from just under the bust and the rustley skirt fell just above her knees. She wore white ballet flats and the tiara that came with the costume.  
  
Jackie looked adorable in her costume, and she was very excited becasue for once, she had breasts. The corset that came with her costume made her look skinnier than ever, but enhanced what she had and made her very happy. The costume was black and red, with a rather dramatic lace skirt and one of those big feathers sticking out of her hair, which she had pulled up into a bun with strategic curls loose. They all looked rather great, and the boys were going to be quite shocked when they saw them.  
  
"I've never felt more like a princess in my life," mused Jena brightly as they made their way down the girls' dormitory. When they hit the Common Room, a group of third year boys rushed over and started telling them how nice they looked. The girls tried to say 'thanks' and keep a straight face, but it wasn't working out very well. Finally they realized that the guys were all staring at them, quite shocked, at their Halloween costumes.  
  
"Hi! You look great in chaps, Sirius!" said Lily cheerfully.  
  
Remus was the first to find his voice. "You look lovely, Jena," he said, holding out a plastic box with a corsage inside of it. The flowers were white carnations that matched her dress and went around her wrist. He took it out and slipped it on while Jena took him in. The armor was very shiny but looked flexible, and he looked a lot like an actual knight. He had a sword and everything.  
  
"You look great too," she mumbled, taking his arm as he offered it.  
  
"Wow," said Sirius, tipping his hat at Jackie. "You look right purty, Miss Storms." His southern/western accent was really quite accurate, surprisingly.  
  
"You don't look so bad yourself," she said slowly. "Lily wasn't lying about the chaps," she added, and he turned around, modelling them. Jackie laughed and the two headed off, leaving James to gawk at Lily and Lily to be gawked at.  
  
"Lily... you look..." He seemed to be searching for the right word. "Surprising."  
  
"Um, thanks. You look nice too." She started out of the common room, but James caught her arm before she could leave. "What?"  
  
"I really mean it. You look beautiful," he said, his voice soft, his hazel eyes the same way as his voice. "I..."  
  
"I have to meet Ben, and you have to meet Giselle," she reminded him, but she was finding it hard to remember that she had a date that wasn't James. He was gazing at her in the most unsettling way, but it was a good unsettling, like her insides were on fire.  
  
"Right," he mumbled, but he was leaning forward to press his soft lips against hers... but before they could meet hers, she turned away and sauntered off, without reply.  
  
:::......:::  
  
"Wow, Lily, you look hot!" exclaimed Ben. He was wearing a simple black tuxedo with black sunglasses, part of the costume. He pecked her cheek and they headed into the Great Hall, which had been decorated by the prefects earlier that day. Jack - O - Lanterns had been enchanted to float around the room, and the band was already playing. People were dancing and there was an array of different costumes, and Lily was pretty sure that no one else had her costume.  
  
"It looks wonderful!" she exclaimed happily, and the two went over to the drink table. They got two goblets of butterbeer then went off to the table where Remus and Jena were already sitting down, deep in conversation. Lily missed it, but Ben poured some firewhiskey into her drink, as well as his own.  
  
"Hullo," said Remus. Lily took a long drink of her butterbeer, and then set it down on the table.  
  
"Hi," said Ben slowly, pulling Lily closer to him. She was still gazing around, feeling very warm inside. Remus and Jena had already gone back to their conversation, and Ben added more alchohol to their drinks while no one was drinking. He took a swig and Lily grinned.  
  
"Want to dance?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, but drink up your drink first. Don't want someone to steal it or spit in it or something," he added. She nodded; this made perfect sense. She drank up, flicked her red hair over her shoulders, and stood up, wobbling on her high heels slightly, like all the blood had rushed to her head.  
  
"Tonight is going to be really great," she told him as they headed onto the dance floor, a new song striking up. "The greatest..."  
  
:::......:::  
  
"Is it just me, or is Lily acting a little..."  
  
"Drunk?" finished Sirius. Remus nodded. The redhead was dancing rather provactively with Ben, who was looking very surprised at her. From across the dance floor, they could see the muscles tightening in James' jaw angrily.  
  
"Lily can't be drunk. She wouldn't touch liqour," said Jackie. "She's far too smart."  
  
"Yeah, but what if the little git put something in her drink? She was drinking quite a bit of butterbeer, he could have spiked it..." After suggesting this, Jena grabbed Lily's goblet and took a testing swig of the contents left in the fourth cup Lily had had. She passed it to Sirius, a confused look on her face. He sniffed it before drinking, then set the goblet back on the table.  
  
"Fire whiskey," he concluded.  
  
"That wanker!" cried Jackie, outraged. "I'm going to go clean his clock -"  
  
"Wait," said Jena softly. "I have a new plan to add to the plan...." She leaned forward and the group huddled, muttering quietly. Jackie had a mean, revengeful grin on her face as the group disbanned; Jena and Remus heading off to find Ben's friends, who were dressed as his body guards, and Sirius over to Ben and Jackie over to James....  
  
:::......:::  
  
Lily couldn't really remember when Ben had turned into Sirius, but she grinned, resting her head on one of his strong shoulders. "Sirius, I'm having so much fun..." She leaned against him, grinning. "Ben's nice, isn't he?"  
  
"Oh yeah, great," replied Sirius sarcastically, spinning Lily around so he could watch Jackie speak to James. He felt Lily sigh into his chest, then glanced down at her.  
  
"You were right about James... he tried to kiss me today," she said off handishly. "But I didn't let him. Nope, nope nope... why aren't you dancing with-?" she didn't finish the sentance, as someone tapped her shoulder.  
  
"May I cut in?" asked Jackie, and Lily nodded, stepping away from Sirius. "Here, dance with James -" She thrust Lily in James direction, and he caught her before she could topple over onto the floor.  
  
"Well," said James slowly, when he felt Lily wind her arms around his neck and pull him closer to her. "I'm glad to see that you aren't dancing with Ben anymore.... Bloody wanker." He rested his chin on top of her head and she let out a soft, sleepy sigh. "How many glasses of butter beer have you had Lily?"  
  
"Oh... I don't know.... Ben just kept giving them to me, and you know how yummy they are..." She shrugged and turned her face up to him. "Why? Are you going to beat him up for giving me butterbeer?"  
  
"No. But he obviously put something into it, as you are dancing with me without complaint..."  
  
"James, you're so silly! I mean, I don't hate you... I'd rather like to kiss you right now." She smiled up at him and he gazed down at her, incredulous. She stopped their swaying to the music, stood up on her tip toes, and pressed a kiss to his lips rather gentley. It only lasted a few, brief seconds, but Jamse pulled away, stepping back from her. "What?" she asked, loudly. "This is what you wanted isn't it? To kiss me?"  
  
"Not like this," James replied, somewhat breathlessly. His lips tingled from where hers touched his; it was hard to breathe. He glanced around and found that many people were staring at them, rather surprised.  
  
"Fine, because I didn't want to kiss you anyway!" cried Lily, turning on her heel. Sirius caught the look on her face, a sudden panic rising in his stomach.  
  
"She's going to spew!" he said to Jackie, who quickly ushered Lily out of the ball.  
  
They spent the rest of the evening in the girls' lavatory, Lily barfing her guts up and Jena and Jackie soothing her.  
  
:::......:::  
  
Omg... I'm adding this a long time after this chapter was actually written. I was completely floored by one of my reviewers, and I was so excited I leapt from my chair and practically raced through my house to read it to my Dad (my sole support usually on fanfiction). I was considering not writing the second part to the story because this one wasn't getting very many reviews. But it just jump started my writing and I'm writing my revised thank you's!!!!!  
  
MPPLilyPotter: Thank you! I love MWPP and you should see my folders from sixth grade, they have it etched all over them!! (I'm in ninth grade now - well, I'll be in tenth in the fall... nevermind).  
  
Rose13: Thanks a bunch!  
  
Roxy: I am very good at sap, aren't I? Must be all the maple tree's around me... Thanks! The fund isn't really working out... Thanks again!  
  
crazyfanatic: By the looks of things, they woun't be getting together very soon, will they?? Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Bob-chan: Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!!!!!! You are the greatest person on the planet! lol. But thanks a lot, that really motivated me to get writing again. I feel a bit like the lead actress in an indie film. You don't get paid much but reviews are good.  
  
Sasha: Thanks, underappreciated artist over here is starving for reviews. But what can I expect? My first break onto the scene and all... Well, not really. But I'm keeping my other pen name top secret!  
  
Thank you all soooooooooo much for reviewing, it really helps my writing process along.. Thanks again!! 


	11. chapter eleven

**_.chapter eleven.  
_**  
Lily spent much of the next day sleeping, and when she did wake up, her stomach churned at the mere thought of food, and her head pounded and her eyes hurt. Jackie and Jena were sympathetic, of course, as it had not been her fault that she had gotten so smashed - it was the wanker Ben Corner's fault - and she had every right to be moaning about her pain. It was around dinner time when Remus raced up the girls' dormitory staircase, causing many first years to shriek and run to their rooms. He reached the girls' room and caught his breath while they stared at him, indredulous.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Jena, looking concerned.  
  
"Ben was asking how Lily was doing, and James got really mad.... You should have seen his face, it got all red and you know how he sometimes gets so mad the muscle in his jaw starts twitching?" he directed the question at Lily, who nodded. "Well it was all twitching, and then... he just belted the kid right across the face, and you should have seen the look on the wanker's face..." Remus raked a hand through his sandy brown hair and sighed heavily.  
  
"Oh," said Lily dumbly, not knowing what to think really.  
  
"Yeah," said Remus. "I think you'd better go talk to James, he's rather angry right now and he won't listen to anyone. He's just pacing around the room, in a circle and everything... He's very angry."  
  
"Yeah, okay." Lily pushed back the blankets on her bed and Jena pulled Remus away to discuss something while Lily pulled on some flannel pajama pants and a baggy T-shirt, along with some well worn slippers she only wore when she was feeling very lazy. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and headed out of the room, yawning loudly. The Head Girl wasn't supposed to be hung over, she wasn't supposed to be wandering around the tower in her pajamas, and yet, it felt so good to just be Lazy Lily and careless.  
  
"Hullo," said Sirius, once he spotted Lily on her way across the common room, over to the boys' staircase. "Going to talk to James?"  
  
"Mmhmm," she mumbled absently, ascending the staircase. Once she reached the Marauders room, she found James Potter pacing the stone floor very angrily. He was rubbing his chin, one arm tucked behind his back, rather like an old man would do. She cleared her throat but he didn't hear her; he was too deep in thought. "James."  
  
He glanced up finally, his hair falling in his face. "Oh. Hi, Lily." He stopped pacing and Lily trudged in the room, James giving her outfit a confused look then shook his head. "I suppose you heard about the fiasco earler?"  
  
"Yes," she said, sitting on the edge of a bed, which she noted was made neatly and she knew it had to be Frank Longbottum's, as none of the Marauders were very tidy. Except for Remus, that is. "I found it rather amusing, but when I laugh my head begins to pound. Do stop pacing, it's making me dizzy."  
  
"Sorry," he mumbled. He couldn't stop thinking about last night, when Lily kissed him. He thought she was looking cuter now than he had ever seen her before, perched on the bed in her pajamas and her hair all messy. He had never seen Lily looking quite so unorganized or messy. "It's just, well. I was rather angry about last night."  
  
"About last night," started Lily, but James cut her off.  
  
"I know the kiss didn't mean anything -"  
  
"The kiss? Who kissed?" she asked, furrowing her brows together. "I don't remember very much from last night."  
  
"Oh. Well, you kissed me when we were dancing - you were rather pissed, no offense - so I pulled away and you got very angry at me. And then you raced off." James sighed and sat on the bed across from her, which was unmade and Lily decided it was James because it had a load of Quidditch magazines strewn over the bedspread.  
  
"Oh. I guess I had a right to be mad at you, huh?" she asked.  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"Well, I obviously wanted to kiss you in my intoxicated state... and you turned me away in front of everyone. I was probably embarrassed." Lily shrugged and slid off the bed, standing in front of James. "It was very nice of you, punching Ben for my honor." She sat beside him on the bed, and he didn't want to push his luck, so he stayed still.  
  
Lily didn't quite know what she was doing. But she knew that she really wanted James to snog her right there on his bed, and she couldn't understand why. Perhaps it was the fact that she could vaguely remember a pair of soft lips on her own, and she liked that feeling last night... or that she wanted to kiss him again, to see if he would pull away when she was sober. She wasn't quite sure.  
  
"It was nothing," he said, grinning at her, his hands folded in his lap. He licked his lips nervously, feeling very awkward. Lily scooted closer.  
  
"James..?"  
  
"Yes?" he asked, turning towards her. She gazed at his lips, then closed her eyes and leaned forward, pressing her lips against his, and they felt just as soft now as they had last night. Lily's hand came up to rest on James' shoulder, and her other hand pulled off his glasses. She felt something pressing against his lips, and she realized it was his tongue. She opened her mouth the let him in, and they kissed for a long time. It was when James felt Lily's hand snake around his waist and delve up his shirt, when he felt something was wrong, they were moving too fast. He broke off, standing up.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked, poutily.  
  
"We can't do this, Lily. Not now. We're not even dating, we can't just be snogging on my bed." James shook his head and Lily licked her lips angrily. "I'm not saying I don't want to -"  
  
"Then why did you stop?" she asked. "I wasn't going to have bloody sex with you, James." She stood up and then added, "How easy do you think I am?"  
  
"Lily, that's not what I was saying -"  
  
"Well, you can kiss whatever just happened between us goodbye," said Lily, already halfway out the door. "I will never kiss you, ever again, James Potter."  
  
:::......:::  
  
"What'd'you think they're doing up there?" asked Jackie as she, Jena, Sirius, Peter, and Remus sat around the common room on Sunday evening. "Do you think they're quarrelling?"  
  
"No. I think they're probably snogging," said Sirius, gazing up their staircase, waiting to see either or both of them coming down. "I bet he's gotten to second base by now -"  
  
"Sirius!" exclaimed Jackie, slapping him gentley on the arm. "Lily would never let James get to second base. Not before they were dating for at least a month and a half." She nodded knowingly, and Sirius gave her a horrified look.  
  
"Do you plan these things out? Like, is there a seminar you take where you plan on when and how you're supposed to lose your virginity and all of that?" he asked, sounding terrified.  
  
"Yeah, don't they have them for guys?" asked Jena, keeping her face perfectly straight. She pulled a face then burst out laughing. She shook her head and snuggled into Remus' chest slowly, and he pulled his arm tighter around her and kissed the crown of her head. Ever since last night, they had been feeling a bit coupley and acting like it.  
  
"All I know is -"  
  
But Sirius was cut off by Lily, stalking down the staircase with a murderous look on her face. She turned to the group of them, sprawled on the couches casually, and said very darkly, "James Potter is the worst human being on the entire Earth." With that, the headed up the girls' staircase very slowly and deliberately.  
  
"Oh great. What did he do this time, I wodner?" asked Jackie as she and Jena got up to go comfort their friend, while the three boys stood up as well to go console James.  
  
"What he normally does. Screw up."  
  
:::......:::  
  
Bob-chan you are sooooo adorable!!! LOL. As many of you might not know, I wrote this story a while ago, so I have all of the chapters finished, and I'm going to go back and edit over them, because I've decided the ending isn't really good (someone dies and I really don't want them to). So I've decided that I'm going to write a sequal to this (ala Tropical Fishy's The Flower and the Stag) when they are graduated from Hogwarts. The character won't die until that part, because I realized that only one student died at Hogwarts (ala Chamber of Secrets) so I'l re write and edit and the person will have an extended lifetime. Yay!! And also, there is another part after that about Jena and Remus' kid. Wow, said too much already!!! [insert evil laughter] Well I have to run, lots of things to see and people to do!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own it.  
  
Dedication: BRIGHT EYES! I LOVE YOU CONNOR OBERST! YOU ROCK MY FRICKIN' SOCKS OFF!!! And Bob-chan for the fun reviews!  
  
Pleae Review! 


	12. chapter twelve

.chapter twelve.  
  
The next couple of weeks at school were miserable for everyone, not just the members of the Gryffindor Tower. James had detention for hitting Ben, and was going on a jinxing rampage, and no one was off limits, exept for the first years. He didn't like to hurt the innocent. Snape had to go to the Hospital Wing three times in two weeks, once because his tongue turned purple and spurted rather foul smelling and tasting liquid, another time because James made his ears close up and he couldn't hear a thing.  
  
Lily sulked around the common room and school, very depressed. She was mostly humiliated more than anything. Why did James keep shooting her down? Didn't he like her? Or was it just a big plan to get her back for turning him down so many times? She sighed drearily whenever she thought about it.  
  
Jena and Jackie kept having to console their friend, who was becoming more and more broody throughout the days. Sirius, Peter, and Remus were becoming quite sick of it all - James hexing people and snapping grouchily at them whenever anything bad happened.  
  
But the worst part of all came one day in early November. Lily was eating her breakfast, shooting dark glances at anyone that dare try and talk to her. She flinched at the familair sound of the owls bringing the morning post, and was surprised when an envelope landed on her toast. She opened it slowly, a bad feeling knotting her stomach. She quickly pulled the letter out and read through the letter.  
  
_Dear Lily,  
  
I don't know what you are up to at that school of yours, but I have some horribley dreadful news for you. Late last night, when everyone was sleeping, someone broke into the house. Mum heard first, you know her... hearing like a bat... and she wokeup Dad and they woke up me. They told me to go into the closet, so if someone was there I wouldn't get hurt or anything. Mum called the police and Dad went down stairs with a baseball bat to see if someone was there....  
  
Next thing I knew, I heard him shouting, and Mum screaming, "Lewis! Lewis!" and then, from those slats in the closet door, I watched as this man in a dark cloak passed through the hallway. His eyes gave me the chills, they were so cold... And then there was a flash of green light. He said something I couldn't hear, and then left.  
_  
_After a long time, I heard the police knocking on the door, then I came out of the closet. I knew they were dead. Our parents are dead, Lily. DEAD. And it was your kind that killed him. Your bloody magaical kind that killed our parents, and they're dead and they aren't coming back. The funeral will be in three days, closed casket... Please be there for the funeral, and then don't come home. I'm going to be staying with my fiance Vernon Dursley for a while. I don't know what your plans are for after your last year of school, but please do not ask Vernon or me for help. I have had enough of the wizarding kind.  
  
Your Sister, Petunia._  
  
Lily read and re-read the letter before folding it up slowly, her emerald eyes darker than ever with unshed tears shimmering them. She glanced up as James Potter sank into the seat beside her, and sniffled. James gave her a funny look.  
  
"What?" he asked, and she handed him the letter, shoulders slumped as tears slipped down her freckled cheeks. "Oh... oh Lily," he said, "I'm so sorry...."  
  
Lily stood up, pulling away from the table. Everyone noticed her, thinking there would be a bit of drama between the two. But Lily simply shook her head and raced off, faster than she had ever ran in her life.  
  
:::......:::  
  
"So you're all leaving?" asked Peter. "All of you and not me?"  
  
"Well... yes, basically," said Jena slowly as she stood at the foot of Remus' bed, watching him pack. Lily had invited James, Jackie, Jena, Remus, and Sirius to come to the funeral simply because she didn't want to face her sister by herself, so she brought an entourage of friends. They didn't mind, as James was feeling very guilty about the whole ordeal, as he knew who killed Lily's parents and knew that it could have been prevented. But he wasn't saying anything to anyone really, simply trying to console Lily silently. She was becoming a shell of herself, within the few hours after she recieved the news. Dumbledore was sympathetic and let them all leave, though he was slightly worried without having any Heads left at the school.  
  
"Oh," he sounded disapointed.  
  
"I can't believe Lily's parents were murdered," said Sirius slowly, as though the thought really plagued his thoughts. He had a concerned look on his face and the group nodded slowly. "Do you think it was...?" he trailed off.  
  
"Who?" asked Jena.  
  
"Nobody," answered James roughly. "I'm all packed... I'm going to go check on Lily."  
  
"Good idea," said Remus. "You do that, we'll finish packing..."  
  
:::......:::  
  
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so extremely short! If you wondered what was taking me so long to upload, I suppose I shall tell you now that I was away working at summer camp, becoming a C.I.T. A C.I.T. is a Counselor In Training, so in a couple of years I'll be a camper counselor, which I think is going to be a lot of fun. At camp, I got a nic-name (Slightly, after the skunk/fox from Peter Pan - we're not quite sure which one it is, and I have googled it a million times but can't find anything on it) and a new obsession with Peter Pan. I just saw the new live action one and it really was fabulous. I've seen it two times already! Well, I'd better run. Sorry this chapter is so short, and the A/N is so freaking long! Thanks for reviewing everyone!  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned anything, why would I put a disclaimer on this?  
  
Please Review! 


	13. chapter thirteen

_**.chapter thirteen.**_  
  
Remus had never been to Lilly Evans' house before, nor had he ever thought that he would be. But he found himself in the small two sotry home in the suburbs, with a white picket fence around the front of the house, and the window seat in the upstairs bedroom, which Lily pointed out to be hers. It was obvious that Lily's sister had not expected nearly so many people, nor did she really want them there, but it was also obvious that she was too distraught to do anything about it.  
  
"This is my room," said Lily once they manuevered all of the luggage upstairs into the guest bedroom and Lily's room. There was a poster of some band on her wall, then pictures of her, Jena, and Jackie throughout the room. There were even a couple with the Marauders, which was very amusing, not to mention surprising, for Remus.  
  
"Nice bed," commented Sirius, pointing to the bunk bed that was converted into a desk/office area beneath the top bunk. There were at least two hundred books on the shelves, and it was pretty cozy looking.  
  
"Thanks. I've had it since I was like, seven." She gazed fondly around the room and sighed. "Sad to think that I'm never going to see it again, after Petunia moves everything into a storage unit or whatever she plans to do with it all." Lily shrugged and sat on the window seat, beside Jackie, who was rumaging through a box she had pulled out from eneath a floorboard.  
  
"Do you remember where I put that love letter to Chinatown?" she asked, referring to her code name for Ryan Chang, who she had been pursuing for a while, but that had all ended during the past month or two.  
  
"Why would you write a love letter to China?" asked Sirius, scratching his head in confusion.  
  
"Nevermind that," replied Jackie, fishing out the said letter, tucking it into her pocket. She handed the box to Lily, who also began fishing around inside of it. She pulled out a letter that she had written to Ben Corners and began to rip it into many little pieces while everyone watched. Then she put the pieces back in the box, put the lid on, and crouched down to replace it under the floorboard.  
  
"So," said Remus slowly. "When is the funeral?"  
  
"Tomorrow afternoon," said Lily, clearing her throat. "Why?"  
  
Remus shrugged, and Sirius said, "Lils, you don't happen to have any food around here, do you? Because I'm starved."  
  
Lily broke a grin and nodded, then motioned for him to follow her downstairs. The rest of the group stayed in her bedroom. Jackie let out a breath and said, "This is the most awkward, odd moment I have ever had in my life. Even worse than that time at the Three Broomsticks." She closed her eyes and shuddered in rememberance.  
  
"What happened at the Three Broomsticks?" asked Remus.  
  
"Well... let's just say, most embarrassing moment. Ever." She was turning nearly purple now. "I don't wish to revisit the whole event..."  
  
James was wandering around Lily's bedroom, picking up her trainers and examining them as though he had never seen a pair of trainers before in his life. Then, he moved on to her dresser, where pieces of parchment were scattered about. Everything in the bedroom was just so... Lily. It was adorable. He picked up something else, a stuffed pig, and grinned to himself. He didn't realize he had an audience until Remus started laughing.  
  
"James, you're the craziest person I know," said Jena slowly, grinning still. "But it's okay. I'm sure Lily would mind you touching Mr. Sniggles."  
  
"Mr. Sniggles?" he asked with a bright smile.  
  
"What about Mr. Sniggles?" asked Lily, sauntering into the room. She glanced at James, playing with her stuffed animal, and grinned. "Oh, you've found him. He's very nice. Doesn't snort or anything like that." She sighed and proceded to crack all of her knuckles, causing Jackie to cringe.  
  
"How can you just do that?" she asked. "Ech."  
  
"Sorry," said Lily, sheepishly. They all stood around in silence, Sirius eating a sandwhich and the rest of them staring at their shoes. No one knew what to say and it felt very, very uncomfortable.  
  
:::......:::  
  
That night, when everyone was sleeping, Lily slipped out of her house and sat on her back porch, perched on the railing, nursing a cooling cup of tea. She used to sit out there at night with her Dad, and they would discuss all sorts of things, mostly what was going on in her life, with the magic. They had discussed James and the Marauders quite a few times out on that railing, and it was felt weird to be out there without him, with the Marauders inside, camped out all over the house. Petunia and her boyfriend were very suspicious of the magical kind and kept giving Sirius bizarre looks, as they never saw him when he wasn't eating anything.  
  
Lily heard the door open and glanced around to see James walking groggily towards her, wearing a pair of boxers and a T-shirt, which he looked rather nice in. Lily sighed and raked a hand through her dark red hair, which was a complete, fuzzy mess right now. She didn't care though, she was too tired and grief - stricken to care. She pulled her knees up to her chest as he leaned against the railing, facing the house, while Lily was facing the backyard.  
  
"Were you very close?" he asked slowly, cauticous. He didn't want to start another fight with her, but he wanted to help. He watched her face for a moment, and she nodded. "They must have been top notch, if you loved them so much."  
  
"They were..." Lily left the unfinished sentance hanging, trying to think of the best way to put it. "Mum was closer to Petunia, Dad was very close to me. We were a happy family until I got my letter; Petunia was convinced I was going to kill them all. And - well, I sort of have, haven't I?" she asked as her voice became hoarse and her eyes welled up with tears. She sighed slowly and brushed the tears of her face.  
  
"No, it wasn't your fault at all," he said, reaching up tentatively to touch her shoulder. "If anyone was at fault, it was mine." Lily snapped her head around and gazed at him in confusion. She opened my mouth to protest and he shook his head. "It's a long story, Lily, and we're both too tired to talk about it now..."  
  
"I'm not tired," replied Lily. She stared at him expectantly and he sighed, raking a hand through his permanently dishevled hair. "James," she said, trying another approach, "It's just that, I feel so guilty for bringing it upon my parents and my family."  
  
"You feel guilty?" asked James, his voice quiet. "YOU feel GUILTY." He shook his head, slamming his eyes shut.  
  
"Yes, James I feel guilty. Because if it weren't for me, my parents would be alive. If it weren't for the fact that I'm magical, even, my parents would be alive. We would be happy, I would have parents, and ..." She didn't finish the sentance.  
  
"If anyone is going to feel guilty, it's me. It's because of me that Voldemort killed your parents, Lily. Because I -"  
  
"Voldemort?" asked Lily. "Why would he want to kill my parents? They're muggles, for Merlin's sake!"  
  
"Let me finish," said James calmly as Lily slid over the edge of the banister so she was standing beside him, her fluffy slippers tickling his toes she was so close to him. He sighed exapseratedly, realizing he would have to tell the complete story. "You know that day in the library, when I asked you about my friend who - well, you rememer, right? Well, the friend was me and those people - and your parents - wouldn't have died if I had gone to Dumbledore like you told me to!" Lily looked like she was going to disrupt again, so he went on quickly, "I just thought that I could handle it by myself. But then he kept sending me these letters, about how he was killing people to get me to join him in this big battle he's planning to make the wizarding world all pure again, because my magical blood count was like, sky - rocketed compared to other babies when I was born, so I was all special... I never meant to hurt you or your family, Lily. I'm really sorry."  
  
"But that doesn't explain why they would kill my parents, James," said Lily, much more gentley and calmly than before.  
  
"He kills people that are close to people I care about. And obviously... I care about you." The last bit was quieter and sheepish, and Lily couldn't help throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a large bear hug. James brought his arms around her too, hugging her tighter than he had ever hugged anyone before. They were clinging to eachother as though if they were to let go, they would get pulled apart forever. And under the cloudless, starless, velvety night sky, Lily Evans realized that she too cared a great deal for James Potter.  
  
:::......:::  
  
A/N: I'm so sappy, aren't I? Ridiculous, isn't it? Welll.... oh well. HP DAY IS FRIDAY, PEOPLE! I'M GONNA PEE MY FREAKING PANTS! SPEAKING OF PANTS.... THUNDERPANTS RULES, RUPIE!!!!!... I love the long red hair.... i love read heads.... sigh

**[Added on July 5, 2004: Haha, I'm such a dork! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been partying for fourth of July and all that nonsense, and I made some scrumptous Sundaes. I'm reading Peter Pan right now... maybe I'll post a Peter Pan fic... If you're lucky. I'm haivng some trouble on a sequel for this so it might be a little longer than expected, but who knows! Well, I'd better run... Stop prolonging the infinite end to this little fic, which is much longer than the other, don't you think Roxy? Lol. Thanks for reviewing everyone!]**  
  
Disclaimer: JK couldn't write my sappy bullshit. Sorry.  
  
Please Review!


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